Monywa City and Should-not-be-missed Destinations

Monywa – a dynamic land in the center of Burma

Monywa is a city in the center of Myanmar, located northwest of Mandalay on the eastern bank of Chindwin River. Monywa city serves as a main trade center for the Indian and the Burmese. Compared to other regional centers in Myanmar, this land seems to be more dynamic with lively markets, vibrant atmosphere and numerous food stalls. Because of the location of the city, you should take a Myanmar river cruise to have the most interesting adventure on the dreaming Chindwin to reach Monywa.

Being a brand new destination in Myanmar, the city just has basic tourism infrastructure including Monywa hotels, guest houses, and local restaurants… Travel to Monywa, visitors will have an authentic experience when getting into the rustic life of people here.

Interesting attractions to go when traveling to Monywa

Thanboddhay Pagoda

Thanboddhay is an unusually colorful and uniquely styled Monywa pagoda located in the south east of the town. This stunning Buddhist temple complex is located on 37 acres of land which houses over 500,000 Buddha images with hundreds of golden spires. This is a modern place of worshipping, well- maintained with fascinating samples of modern Buddhist art.

Visiting the pagoda, tourists can study and take the photos of spectacularly decorated pillars and other unique structures. If you take a Monywa travel at the beginning of Myanmar month of Tazaungmone (around November), you will have a great chance to see the annual pagoda festival which lasts several days with a variety of exciting activities.

Entrance fee: around 3 USD

Bodhi Tahtaung and Po Khaung Taung

From Thanboddhay Pagoda, continuing 5 miles along an easy road, you will reach Po Khaung Taung – a small range of hills in Monywa which features unusual sights that you cannot find in any other parts of Myanmar.

One of many special things you can see is the unique Bodhi Tahtaung Pagoda with one thousand Bodhi trees. Each tree has a big Buddha statue underneath, a special place in Monywa city.

Lying east of Bodhi Tahtaung Pagoda is Po Khaung Taung where the largest Buddha image stands. On the soles of this huge image, there are hundreds of auspicious symbols which offer a great chance for those who are interested in Buddha footprints. Inside the image, there is a hollow cave - like structure which allows you to walk from the head to the feet of the image. This is also the place where some important events in the life of the Buddha taken place.

Aung Sakkya Pagoda

Nearby the reclining Buddha image, you can also find the Aung Sakkya Pagoda – a landmark for the surrounding area  of Monywa. At the pagoda, you can stroll around to enjoy the peace and understand more about Buddhist culture in Myanmar.

Hpo Win Daung Caves

Located 25 km west of Monywa on the western bank of the Chindwin River are Hpo Win Daung caves. This is a pagoda complex of 947 caves ornamented with beautiful mural paintings and hundreds of Buddha statues.

In November, there is the interesting Hpo Duang Festival taking place at the caves. This is the biggest festivals of the year in Monywa. You can join the festival to have memorable experience when travel to Monywa at that time.

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